An Afghan who had served as the chief of police for the western province of Farah, which borders Iran, recently stated that “insurgents” have admitted during interrogations that Iran actively supports the Taliban. From TOLO News:
“Some captured insurgents have confessed during investigations that they were trained in training centres located in border areas,” former police chief of Farah, General Faqir Askar, told TOLOnews.
Farah province, with an area of 4,900,000 square kilometers, is located in western Afghanistan and has a long border with Iran.
An official in Farah province said on condition of anonymity that Iran has created training facilities in Shamsabad and Berjand areas bordering Farah, to train anti-government groups.
He said Iran sends the trained insurgents back to Afghanistan to fight against the Afghan government.
Residents in Farah urged the central government to act decisively against foreign interventions.
These camps in Iran are run by the Ansar Corps, a sub-command of Iran’s Qods Force. As I noted in late November, Farah is home to what appears to be a substantial al Qaeda cell that is supported by the Ansar Corps:
Farah province is well off the beaten path, yet ISAF and Afghan special operations teams have been active in the district since early October. There have been five reported raids in Farah since the beginning of October, and 10 raids total since March 2010. In the course of the 10 raids, ISAF has killed three al Qaeda-linked commanders (Mullah Aktar, Sabayer Sahib, and Mullah Janan), and captured another. All of these commanders are linked to Iran’s Ansar Corps, the Qods Force sub-command that was identified by the US Treasury Department as aiding the Taliban and other foreign terror groups. When I posed that question to ISAF public affairs, I received the following answer:
“Due to operation security concerns we are not able to go into further detail at this time.”
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4 Comments
Keep up the great work Bill!
Iran has carried out numerous causes of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and we still let them off.
My hope for 2011 is removal of the Iranian regime.
Pakistan on the other hand may take years!
I am glad to see that they finally got Janan. He was a real SOB for the last few years.
SF
This province borders Iran, so there is no surprise about Iran’s involvement. Maybe a guerilla force operating in Iran would be a good idea. The best defense is a good offense. Let ’em have it.